After Hours
by munwai
Summary: WARNING: ELSANNA fic. Following the return of summer, Elsa has to figure out how to regain the confidence of the neighboring kingdoms.
1. Chapter 1

After everything was said and done, there was no avoiding the rising tensions surrounding Arendelle's foreign affairs. Despite the queen's best efforts to quell the fervor, it was hard to miss the fact that foreign diplomats quaked in her presence and attempted to keep a safe distance from her at all time, which turned out to be roughly a few yards. It made discussing private matters harder when you had to yell quietly across a table at each other. And although nearby kingdoms didn't withhold trade following the episode, they kept further interaction with Arendelle minimal at best.

_Something needs to be done, _Elsa thought. She rubbed her temples and sighed. Her back hurt. And her shoulders. And her neck. Her whole body ached from bearing the weight of her actions_. If only I hadn't over reacted then…_but then what?

"You don't look so good." She snapped out of her reverie and found herself staring straight into her sister's inquisitive eyes. "What's wrong, Elsa?"Anna peeped, brushing a stray hair from Elsa's brow. The queen felt her ears burn from the contact and turned away.

"The usual queenly duties," Elsa replied, in an attempt to brush off her concern. She softened at Anna's touch but averted her gaze all the same. "Boring matters, to be sure. You needn't concern yourself with them," she ended quietly, gripping her quill a little tighter. It frosted over in a matter of seconds. Anna furrowed her brows suspiciously.

"Elsa," the princess growled, and with both hands, turned her sister's face and reluctant eyes back to her, "tell me."

_Ugh_, the queen groaned inwardly. _How could I resist those eyes?_

"So…" Anna began after making Elsa spill the details, "it sounds like you need someone to bridge the divide between kingdoms," she looked at her sister for confirmation. The queen nodded slowly as Anna circled her chamber. "Someone with exceptional wit, in-depth knowledge of Arendelle's history and dealings, as well as excellent interpersonal skills." She glanced back at her sister, "someone who can convince them that you are as beautiful and graceful a queen as you are a generous, honorable ruler and trading partner…etcetera"

"Well yes, I suppose," Elsa responded, warily. She didn't like where this conversation was going.

"And naturally sh-I mean-this person-should probably be someone who can kill it on the dance floor, too."

"Hm." Elsa sat stone-faced.

"An ambassador of Arendelle,"Anna continued, feeling a bit self conscious about the next words: "That is to say, me!" Anna chirped nervously and flitted about the room rearranging Elsa's things while her sister's glowering eyes following her. "I'm just what you need."

"No." Came a swift reply.

"No?" Anna huffed, with hurt in her voice.

"No, Anna," Elsa repeated, firmer than the first time. "I can't be sure what you may be getting into. After all this…all that's happened," she faltered, looking pleadingly into Anna's eyes for some shred of understanding. "Listen. Chances are, other kingdoms see us as more of a threat than ever and they could hurt you. I can't risk that."

"…But that's EXACTLY why Arendelle needs an ambassador more than ever!" Anna interjected.

"We already have one," Elsa countered.

"But not one that's a princess! Who could give better insight on the goings on in our kingdom and the many riches & opportunities it holds other than me?" came the princess' retort. "Who could sing of your praises, of your due diligence, your struggles, your passion and dedication better than me?" She continued, gaining momentum. "You know it's a good idea, Elsa, so why are you fighting me so hard?"

"Anna, I-" Elsa began, but the words got caught in her throat. It was a sound proposal, and Anna had great potential despite her lack of experience. But even so, "I just got used to greeting you in the morning," she mumbled.

"What?" The princess sputtered, thrown by the change in topic.

"I…I'm only just meeting you for the second time and there's just so much I want to know about you and I want you to know," her words came out frantic, "Arendelle must have felt like a prison for you too during all those years, didn't it? And now that the gates are open and you can go anywhere, do anything, I..." She had to stop herself in order to keep the tears at bay. It wasn't part of her plan to say all of that at once. In fact, she hadn't planned on saying any of it ever and now she could feel her rising embarrassment turn the air crisper as a result.

"I _will_ return, no matter the cost," Anna promised earnestly as she brushed the unwept tears from Elsa's eyes. "With new allies, alliances, and all that other junk you care so much about," she smiled tenderly and knelt before her sister. "And I will do it all for you," she whispered as she caressed Elsa's delicate hands, "because that is what a princess does for her queen," she finished, punctuating each word with a kiss to a knuckle. Elsa felt her face flush as she studied Anna's features bathed in soft orange and yellow hues from the hearth's fire. Not quite the words she was hoping to hear, but good enough. In any case, she wasn't sure if she wanted Anna to leave the kingdom if she could act this disarming.

"Ah…"

"Elsa?" Anna turned her focus from Elsa's hands to her face. "What is it?"

"…There is truth in your words," Elsa halted, "I can't deny that. But you will need some training before I can allow you to represent this kingdom abroad."

"Oh, I knew you'd come around!" Anna squealed and enveloped her sister in a fierce embrace. "Thank you, Elsa! You won't regret it."

"I'm regretting it plenty already," Elsa wheezed, trying her best to sound annoyed while gasping for breath from Anna's choke hold.

"Oops! Sorry, Elsa. Guess I don't know my own strength, huh?" giggled the princess as she released her sister. "Er, so when…?"

"8 a.m. sharp in the courtyard tomorrow," Elsa cut in while straightening out her ice-sequined dress, "for your fencing lessons."


	2. Chapter 2

[ 2.]

"No, no, no! You're posture! Good God!" Maybe Elsa hadn't come at a good time. "Straighten your back! No, not like that-now what are you doing with your legs?" Anna's portly instructor scurried madly about the hall room, attempting to follow the irregular footwork of the princess. All the while Anna seemed to dance across the floor, gliding effortlessly while jabbing viciously in the air. Elsa had never seen such beautiful form paired with such frenzied ferocity.

She had hoped Anna would learn the finer points of swordsmanship and not just garnered how to stick someone half to death, but Elsa would have been lying to herself if she hadn't expected it to devolve into something like this anyhow. She was just thankful Anna didn't have a sparring partner this time around. "Wait just a minute, Princess Anna!" he cried after her.

"I will if you can catch me first!" Anna replied, sidestepping her teacher and turning about face before sliding across the waxy floor to make a few more gratuitous jabs in the air. Even when sweaty and tired, she looked positively aglow to Elsa. She was wearing loosely fitted pants and a simple cotton shirt with its sleeves rolled up. Anna paused to wipe the sweat from her brow while her teacher seethed a few feet in front of her. "Tired?" she asked innocently.

"Is this a bad time?" Elsa called across the room, stopping both pupil and teacher in their tracks.

"Your highness!" the squat man greeted, huffing as he bowed and slicked back his unruly black hair. The poor man was exhausted. "Not at all."

"Elsa!" Anna curtsied with a mischievous grin. _This girl…_

"Master Leiber, Anna," Elsa returned with a nod.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of Your Grace' visit?" Master Leiber piped while re-buttoning his rumpled vest.

"I merely wished to observe the Princess' progress. How are things fairing?"

Anna and her instructor exchanged a look before he replied, "the princess is making…progress." He hesitated before adding, "She is quick and light on her feet. If she could channel her…theatrics to her advantage, I believe she could become quite the swordfighter."

"Is that so?" Elsa shifted her gaze from Master Leiber to Anna who tactfully turned her eyes to the ceiling. "Well then I must thank you for your careful instruction."

"It is my pleasure, Your Majesty. In fact," he turned to Anna, "I do believe our lesson is coming to an end." He bowed to the two royalties, "I will see you tomorrow, Princess Anna?"

"I look forward to it," she replied sweetly and returned the gesture. "Goodnight, Master Leiber."

"Goodnight, Princess. And goodnight, Queen Elsa," her instructor replied. He gathered his things quickly and hurried out the door of the Great Hall. As soon as the door closed, Elsa laughed loud enough to ring down the corridor. Anna felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment and glared at her sister.

"Let him teach you, Anna. He is a well renowned swordsman and comes highly recommended from the Summer Isles," Anna snorted. "AND, he has been kind enough to take you on as a pupil," Elsa finished.

"Well he started it, he's so tightly wound! And our practice is so late in the day," Anna replied sheepishly, regretting immediately how petty she sounded.

"You already know we had to move the times around since you consistently showed up late. This is the third instructor you've had disagreements with, Anna. Do you really want to become an ambassador for Arendelle, or is this just another flight of fancy for you?" Elsa questioned, taking the sword Master Leiber had forgotten in his hurry from her sister's hand.

"Of course I do," her sister replied, hurt by the accusation. "I want to help you; I want to help Arendelle!" Elsa turned the rapier in her hand and studied the blade a moment before throwing it back to Anna.

"Then show me." Elsa materialized a similarly blunted ice sword in her hand and held it to her side. "Show me what you've learned these past two weeks."

"Wait, we haven't-" was all Anna could get out before she blocked a swing of the blade with her sword. "Oh it's on."

* * *

The sisters danced across the great hall, parry for parry, striking and missing to find redemption in another opening. Their eyes shined as they sparred, each studying the others' technique. "When did you learn to fence?" Anna panted, jumping out of the way of another swing.

"Even I had my lessons," Elsa lied. In truth, she had scoured swordplay books in the castle's grand library, mimicking the poses in illustrations and different styles detailed in the dusty tomes. In her youth she had longed to meet such heroes and heroines in her novels, hoping such noble characters could overlook her sordid past and truly see her for who she was: a girl, both young and timid, with wants and desires, dreams and hopes like anyone else. Oh, if she could have been anyone else!

Lost in thought, Elsa failed to see that Anna could do more than jab viciously in front of her. The princess feigned a strike, taking the queen by surprise in time to knock the ice sword from her hand. In her shock, Elsa gasped and froze the ground underneath, causing Anna to slip and tumble on top of her.

"So uh, hey." Anna smiled lazily. Though her arms ached, she was just about to push herself up before she felt her breath catch at the sight of Elsa beneath her. By then the sun was just setting over the horizon and the last glimmer of light shining through the hall's windows illuminated her sister's fair form. She stared at the low cut neckline of her dress and the way it clung onto her skin from exertion and-_what am I thinking?_ She knew Elsa was gorgeous, but had she always been this _attractive_? Against her better judgment she reached a hand out and traced the outline of Elsa's lips. Just as the last bit of light drained from the room, Anna lowered her head and-

"Anna?" Elsa breathed._ Even her breath is sweet_, Anna mused. _That's just unfair. _Although the nightfall had since enveloped them, Elsa still seemed to radiate a soft light. Anna ran her fingers down and traced Elsa's collarbone, feeling her sister's breath hitch beneath her touch. And as she felt her Elsa press against her, the door of the Great Hall swung wide open.

* * *

**A/N: Whoops! Definitely had to change the rating from a K.**


	3. Chapter 3

[ 3.]

The sudden gust of cold that followed snapped Anna back to her senses. She jerked her hand back and leapt off of Elsa, confusion marring her cherubic face. Her breath came out in strangled gasps as she stared at where her sister lay in the dark, bewildered.

"Elsa? Anna?" Olaf's head peeked around the doorframe as he held a lamp up, illuminating the room. "So this is where you two were hiding! It was a little lonely at dinner so I thought I'd go look for you guys." He peered at the two in front of him and frowned. Elsa lay disheveled on the ground, and Anna was hardly any better. Neither would meet his inquiring gaze. "Um, what were you two doing?"

"N-nothing! Sorry Olaf. We just...lost track of time." Anna gave a quick laugh and risked a glance at Elsa. _Nope, still sexy. Damn it. _What was wrong with her? "Er, need a hand?" She extended a hand toward Elsa who gingerly accepted. Her rosy cheeks bloomed into rich crimson at the contact. The princess mentally kicked herself as she felt the heat from her face spread down her neck.

"Thank you," Elsa whispered, tenderly interlocking her fingers with Anna's and allowed her to pull her up off the floor. Her sister's palm felt clammy in her own, and so Elsa gently cooled it for her.

Not expecting the sudden chill, Anna jolted her arm against her chest. "Whoa!" If her face turned any redder, she was positive it would explode. Elsa stood stunned, wounded by the rejection. "Sorry! I don't –I um," Anna blurted. "Let's just go eat dinner, okay? I-I'll meet you there!"And with that she fled through the door before the other two could utter a word.

* * *

The walk to the great hall felt like an eternity. The queen's typically brisk gait was now sluggish, her legs heavy with uncertainty. Elsa felt the trek akin to swimming upstream against a relentless current. If she stopped to think, she would surely be washed away.

She closed her eyes and recalled their encounter. Anna on top of her, inches from making contact. Anna's hot breath tickling her skin as she traced her collarbone. The hall dropped a few degrees as Elsa's footsteps slowed, her eyes glazed. Anna, raking her eyes over her dress-Elsa gasped and shook the image from her head and bit her lip. Olaf looked at her curiously but said not a word. She was so lost in thought; he could have yelled at the top of his frosty lungs and gotten no response.

After a moment or two in quiet consideration, the queen concluded that she had simply not adjusted to the newness of physical contact. It was all so foreign to her. And after all, there was no way Anna could harbor Elsa nodded to herself, all the while knowing that her conclusion was-despite her best efforts-utterly unsatisfactory. In the faint glow of the hall lights, her cheeks still burned a soft pink. But she quashed her doubts all the same and quickened her pace down the hallway.

Anna burst through the great hall's doors, her chest heaving. "Y-your Highness!" A servant exclaimed, startled.

"Dinner," Anna panted, looking him in the eye. "I mean-please. For the queen, Olaf, and I."

"Of course." The princess watched as he scurried off to the kitchen. She plopped herself at the table and chewed a slice of bread. She stared intently at the entrance, awaiting her sister's arrival.

* * *

It seemed like it had been an eternity since he'd been back to the castle. Once all the hubbub in Arendelle had died down, it was back to business as usual. Now that it was summer once again, he'd been so busy he'd hardly had any time to himself.

Kristoff stared wistfully at the gates and smiled. Beyond them lay Anna, the spirited redhead who had captured his heart. Nearly a month had passed since he'd last seen her. Antlers shoved him forward from behind. "Whoa! Hey buddy," he laughed and patted Sven, who gave him an affectionate nuzzle in return. "Alright already, I'm going in."

The guards on watch nodded at his approach. "Welcome back, friend of Princess Anna," one of them greeted.

"Thanks," Kristoff replied. He felt a little embarrassed at the recognition but couldn't hold back a grin as he passed the gates to find Anna.

* * *

The door to the great hall creaked open slowly. Elsa shuffled in and smiled apologetically at Anna, with Olaf in tow. "Sorry for the wait."

"Wait! What wait? I only just got here," Anna babbled. Her eyes followed Elsa as she took her seat. How had Anna never noticed how her ice gown clung to her in all the right places? She audibly gulped and shoved the rest of the bread in her mouth. Elsa raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Really good bread," Anna mumbled and grabbed another slice.

"Oh, well I'm glad to see you're enjoying it," Elsa giggled just as the servants arrived to lay out the first course.

"Braised fish in seafood chowder," one announced. The queen gave an approving nod and the servants took their leave.

"This soup is really good," Olaf piped, spooning hot chowder into his face. Rather than melt his snowy face, the stew froze into a lumpy, beige, food beard around his mouth. The sisters smiled knowingly at each other. Olaf always knew how to break the ice.

"So, I had a brief chat with your geography instructor the other day."

"Really?" Anna asked timidly. The subject gave her a bit of trouble.

"Yes, really." Elsa laughed lightly. "And he's been thoroughly impressed by your progress. He even showed me a few of the maps you drafted: each one drawn with painstaking precision and excellent detail. Lovely work."Anna beamed at the compliment.

"Really?" She asked softly.

"Really." The queen took her sister's hand and took a deep breath. "Anna, I'm sorry that I insulted you earlier, I know you're working hard at your studies."

"Earlier?" Anna drew a blank. All she could think of how smooth and cool Elsa's hand felt in her own.

"When I insinuated that this was just another 'flight of fancy' of yours. I'm sorry." The sisters smiled affectionately at each other.

_Anything for you, _Anna wanted to say. "Anything for you." _Oops, crap._ "-And Arendelle!" _Nice save there, Anna._

"Horray for Arendelle!" Olaf cheered. "Wait, what are we talking about?"

* * *

Dinner concluded without much fanfare. The sisters were content to talk about everything and nothing, allowing the conversation to lapse into a comfortable silence for moments at a time. It wasn't often they had chances like this anymore, with the both of them so wrapped up in their own schedules. It was nice to bask in the glow of each other's worries, dreams and successes.

Olaf bid the two goodnight and skipped away, no doubt to entertain the castle servants or chat all night with the horses in the stables. The sisters watched him go and exited the hall themselves. As Elsa turned to head back to her room, Anna touched her arm.

"Elsa. I-" She hesitated when Elsa's striking blue eyes met her own. "I'm sorry too. For earlier."

"For what?" Elsa asked, wincing at how fake her question sounded.

"When we were in the hall room, and I fell on you. I just—you know," she lost her courage and shook her head, afraid to voice her thoughts. Elsa lifted her chin and looked deep into her sister's eyes…and caught a glimpse of something she shouldn't have. Fear. Doubt. Desire. It was the same look she was giving Anna.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Elsa whispered in her ear and placed a soft kiss on her temple, her lips lingering on her freckled skin. Anna's face flushed and she felt her knees quiver.

"Anna!" The princess whipped her head around to see Kristoff jogging towards her.

"Wh-oh!" Before she could say another word, he pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug.

"Boy, you have no idea how many people I had to ask to find you. Castles, am I right?" He felt eyes boring into his back and looked around. "Oh! Hey, Elsa. I mean, Your Majesty." He set the princess back down and settled for holding her hand instead. He always felt a little self-conscious in the queen's presence.

"It's good to see you, Kristoff. I'll leave you two to catch up. Don't stay up too late, now." Elsa winked at the two and walked away. It took all her strength not to look back.

* * *

**[A/N]: Thank you for the reviews and support! Apologies for the delay.  
**


End file.
